All’s well for now…

You wonder what it would be like if the Rangers played more games like last night.

Tom Renney would never tinker with his lines. There would be Wade Redden jerseys sprinkled around Madison Square Garden. People would come to this blog solely to hear me wax poetic on the beauty of the Rangers’ power play.

Yes, it’s a stretch. But the Rangers are afforded a rare crisis-free day after they manhandled the slumping Penguins last night. No line changes at practice. No real news. I’m telling you — this isn’t good for business.

But fear not. Tomorrow is another day. And the Canadiens are not the Penguins, which is a nice way of saying the Rangers holiday might be short-lived if they don’t at least match the effort level of last night.

so much wind would be taken out of the sails of the anti-Renney crowd if the team simply played with the emotion and purpose and urgency that was shown last night. In other words, all the breakdowns leading to odd man rushes, all the poor positional play when without possession of the puck, etc. would be so much easier to stomach if the team wore its heart on its sleeve as it did often last night

Like Harvey Keitel said “Let’s not start sucking each others d*cks quite yet”. The Rangers beat a reeling Penguins team. This team is still flawed. I am encouraged by the win but it means nothing without the same effort tomorrow night.

“Evgeny Grachev, Center, Russia
This guy is big, has tremendous power and uses it to his advantage. Grachev looked like a man playing among boys and steamrolled a number of outmatched opponents on his way to five points in seven games and a plus-3 rating.

Since he’s already showed a desire to play in North America by choosing to leave Russia for the Ontario League, the New York Rangers look to have third-round steal on their hands.

To be sure, Grachev’s game still needs fine-tuning in the defensive end before he’s ready to jump to the big time, but by already housing an NHL-sized frame. Grachev’s development just needs to be guided, which it will be by Stan Butler in Brampton.”

Sam-
You are only feeding the fire, talk about the rangers strenghts in the win, not their faults. For the Renney haters, please acknowledge that he is largely responseble for the win for forcing the team through drills and they had a practice yesterday before the game….hmm, maybe they should practice more? Seriously, this team appears to play better when they practice they day before and practice HARD, Sam, should they practice more?

kaspar – but he can only read an approved list of commentators, don’t worry you’re on the approved list but only every other word (and no words with more than 10 letters, or words that start with r and end in enney). by the way I think mara took a pay cut – I think he was near $ 3 mm last yr but not going to try to look it up.

Will, Grachev is going to be good. I watched him play in the WJCs and he was just head and shoulders above most of the players there. I know most are still developing, but so is he. Just like Del Zotto is going to easily surpass Sanguinetti as our best defenseman in a few years. I think this year was one of our best drafts in a really long time by getting those two and guys like Stepan and others that have a huge amount of upside.

Every time Rangers are about to bottom out, they run into and beat up on a struggling team, then you guys start raising your aluminium foil Stanley Cup. I’ll get excited when this team starts firing on all cylinders.

Grachev: oh boy, he was a lot of fun to watch. He seems to make something happen every time he was out there. I felt bad that he was on the ice for Canada late tying goal. That kid might just be the big skilled forward we’ve been looking for. I cannot wait to see him at MSG.

You make note of “taking the wind out of the anti Rennie crowd’s sails”…….do you honestly believe that one game like last night ( which in itself was very ordinary by NHL standards on the Ranger’s part) would dectract from the reality that Renney is still the architect of this teama’s dismal seasons over the past several years?

I refer you to the Calgary/Chicago game that was on the previous telecast the night or so before, and if you had the good fortune to have watched that, then you would have seen how NHL hockey could and should be played by two highly skilled and well coached clubs.

Rangers with this team’s lethargy, and their coach’s aberrant idea of how this game should be conducted, are just further example of how little of this sport a number of followers of the game really are.

Shutting out the 2 league-leading scorers so far, along with ringing up 4 goals is “very ordinary”? wow, who’s the one with little knowledge?

how are seasons where we’re one of the last 8 teams standing (that’s better than 22 other teams) considered “dismal”? yeah its not ideal, but believe it or not, there’s middle ground between AWFUL and PERFECT.

The perspective on all this is that this team is in the same position it was in with 51pts at the 1/2 way mark (actually has 2 more wins now) as it was in 2005-2006 when Jagr was on his way to breaking Ranger records. No record breakers on this team, not a hell of a lot really (Hank excluded, and a common factor anyway) and they’re in the same position they were.

Now that I’m on the topic…

I think what maybe confuses me, and most others is that I don’t see the separation of the “haters”. Is it that ‘you’ don’t think he’s good enough to win a cup? Or that he’s just not a good coach at all?

And if it’s the former, do ‘you’ think this team is good enough anyway? Better than Detroit? Because that’s what it’s going to take to win it this year…again. I don’t think there’s a team in the NHL that is as well constructed as they are. But then again, they’ve had like 12 guys that have played together for over a f*ckin decade. Keep a team together long enough, and it’s not as hard as it looks out there. The hard part is putting them together, and keeping them together. And sticking to one style of play through the duration.

flynn, you missed my point in your attempt to Wizard-of-Oz yourself as a hockey genius. the technical failures of renny will always be there; no one is more aware of that than me. but when the Rangers play hard and with emotion, it tends to distract people from what is obvious to people like you (and I) who think he’s a minor leaguer.

also, as much as i disrespect this coach and management, i think ‘dismal’ is too harsh a term to describe what Renny and even Sather brought about between ’05-’06 and the end of last season.

Flynn GOOD POST Evan What a moron, Renny should get credit,yea right and Pearn has the leauge leading PP now. I`ll stick with the Harvey quoate and lets see how long it takes Tom Clueless to go back to his A-Hole ways via benching Pru

ummm wd, I gotta take exception to your point #3. one of the biggest complaints people have about him is that he’s ALWAYS changing lines. (actually one of the complaints I think DOES hold water and annoys me).

also, EVERY coach treats vets different from younger players. you don’t see vets getting benched unless they’re career 3rd and 4th liners, not a big part of the team, or on their way OUT.

Like CCCP said up above…Hockey is fun….love it all man!!!
If I was gonna go mental over it I sure wouldn’t pick the rangers to love…would have committed suicide twenty times over ( before ’94) and would have never lived thru that seasons post season

Not to go on and on but I’m on record here at this blog, during the summer free agent sweeps, saying forget the guys who left and the guys who came…biggest change needs to be a change in Renny’s system…I’m no hater, appreciate what he has done but he just seems a little too stubborn and inflexible…just think its a little passive…Now “he” is on record, very recently, as saying that he wants his guys “not to play” passive but they wont….I mean whether its his style or they wont listen to him anymore I support the change in coaching

Do I think they beat Detroit, San Jose Philly, Boston or Caps with a new coach…No I dont, not this year anyway..

Beer Me provides great insight here. Hockey is more about the players on the ice than it is the coach. I’ve been saying this for a long time. I also agree that it is about sticking to a style of play. That is definitely part of the coach’s job, but the organization as a whole should implement a philosophy and stick to it. The Devils win with defense. Detroit wins with offense (yes, they defend pretty well, but come on, that goaltending is mediocre at best…they can ALWAYS outscore their opponents if need be).

Still, I feel the cause for the Rangers’ problems is the personnel and not the coaching (though Pearn should have been fired long ago because he specifically works on the power play, which we all know has been terrible). Look at the roster. It is one good scoring forward and one good defensive defenseman short. It just is. The spot in the lineup occupied by Voros/Korpikoski/whoever should be filled by someone like Straka/Avery/Shanny or a consisten forward of that ilk (Prucha should never be out of the linuep, clearly). The backline needs a big, bruising defenseman. Redden/Kalinin/Rozy are just too soft and aren’t contributing enough offensively (though Roszival has been better).

I still think this is a good team, and if you look at the last two years, when have TOM RENNEY’S teams played well? February and March. 2005-2006 the team faltered down the stretch because of injuries and the olympics, NOT Renney. If that trend continues, the Rangers will be right in the race for the Atlantic and might even nab the #2 or #3 seed.

and re: in-game adjustments, i meant renny’s inability to counter the opposition’s hot player with a match-up or a 2-man forecheck, for example, rather than simply mixing up lines, and also things like trying to run the clock out in a 4-0 game at home against an injury-riddled team that was dying to get hammered 7-1.

Its funny…your all gonna laugh at me probably but up where I live I do not have the Bruins TV network and their games are blacked out on NHL center ice…I’ve seen them play one time this year ( rangers beat them and they played half-asleep)

I know Chara can be dominant at times but just looking at their roster ( not their current stats!) just their guys..I have to say that there is no reason they should be that much better than the Rangers…they may play impressive but the roll call isnt really much..I’ve seen the Savards and Ryders play enough to know that they can float away and dissapear for games at a stretch..

“I still think this is a good team, and if you look at the last two years, when have TOM RENNEY’S teams played well? February and March. If that trend continues…”

Rob C,

Don’t you think that may be a big IF?

I mean how many years do you think Renney can pull long stretches of well over .500 hockey out of his ass through the last couple of months.

At some point he has to have his team play more consistently throughout the season. I realize the players play and they’re motivated in Feb-March… but isn’t it part of a coaches job to get them to play motivated hockey in December?

Yo, whats going on guys. I havent posted on here in a while mainly because this is my break from school and I have been crazy busy. I’ve been in an argument with my friend from Pit for the longest time about Cindy Crosbaby. He wants me to give him a few reasons on why we hate Cindy. I already have a couple such as diving, whining, the media.

I couldn’t agree with you more. The Rangers definitely have more ‘name’ players who have won Cups (Gomez, Drury) and scored a lot of goals (Naslund) elsewhere.

The big difference on the ice between the B’s and the NYRs? The Bruins play without fear and without tension. They go for it. And remarkably? They allow HALF the scoring chances against that the Rangers do.

Riche – doesn’t pretty much ANY team go through slow points and better points throughout the season? I don’t think any team’s been hot for the full 6 months…

as far as Crosby, those are the high points, he’s ALWAYS talking to the refs between plays, he’s too OVER-marketed, and he just has that attitude that he’s been hyped, so he deserves respect. when you see somebody hit him and play him rough, he looks like an angry spoiled child who’s not getting his wishes.

ford…the B’s are also getting all star years from Krejci and Kessel. Kessel had 37 points all of last year and he already has 40 points this year. Krejci has 41 points so far this season and only had 27 last season.
Their offense is clicking on all cylinders, I think that is a huge factor in their success.

I predict the Bruins fall pretty hard the second half of the season; they may end up in first when it’s all said and done, but they’ll be much closer to the pack then they are now.

They’re a good team playing with a lot of grit. Two things they don’t have which you need to be a SERIOUS playoff contender: a great goalie and a star scorer.

Thomas and Fernandez have played above themselves. They don’t scare me like recent teams in the East like the 06 Canes or 07 Sabres or 08 Pens. Those teams, especially the Canes, would wipe the floor with the 09 Bruins.

What’s your basis for “pulling long stretches of well-over .500 hockey out of his ass”? Of are you just saying that because you don’t like Renney and are convinced that the Rangers have played well in February and March the past two seasons BY ACCIDENT? I mean really.

Yes, I agree that they should play with high intensity all season. I agree that it’s part of the coach’s job to make sure his team does go into every game prepared and motivated. But come on. You simply are not going to play 82 perfect games. NO COACH ON THE PLANET could get his team to play 82 perfect games. EVERYONE’S season ebbs and flows. There are GREAT stretches and terrible ones. It happens to every team. Boston, Detroit, etc. are not immune to bad hockey. They will both have some trouble before the season is out. So will everyone else. It’s the essence of a long season.

So…it’s important when your team peaks. The past two seasons, the Rangers have peaked in February and March. That’s an undeniable fact. I hope the trend holds this season.

You’re right. But it seems like those two have been given the freedom to be creative and relentless offensively, without the fear they will be scolded and benched if they turn it over in the neutral zone.

brandon, I dunno, cam ward didn’t strike fear in the hearts of anyone the year the Canes won. 9and hasn’t since.) and Thomas’s numbers are amazing. but in general i don’t disagree with you about them being anything but a slam dunk Cup finalist.

greg – i have no affinity for salty – actually far from it but i think he would have stood by his bet. orr made the 2 weeks bet and salty was starting to call him out as a welcher. as for the rest of my post re what orr could read it was obviously a joke, sorry you didn’t get it

Prime example of why Renny is a Idiot—- 1st power play last night”OH MY GOD” Dawes,Prucha,Drury,Rosy,Mara = GOAL
2nd power play DO YOU STICK WITH SUCCESS NOOOOOOOOO, here comes NOMEZ,Naslund,Cally,Rozy,Mara. NOW dont get me wrong Mara and Rosy at the points COOL but if aint broke dont fix it. The Idiot mustve got pissed because they scored.

Kaspar – I want Montreal to BOMB this year…. all the hype and preferential treatment because they’ve been around 100 years, I want them to miss the playoffs. Kinda the same thing as the league over-hyping Sid.

wd – by the same token (of the canes), couldn’t it be possible for the rangers to pull out some of the same out-of-nowhere magic out their a$$es and possibly go for it all? wouldn’t be the 1st time its happened.

I Did , I did get it …eh? So Li Joe just wondering something. With a name like long Island Joe , aint you kinda in Islander land? Let me geuss…you were an Islander fan all yer life then desided to jump ship? Seriously are you an ex-islander fan or what? or do you like both?

I was reading somewhere( Graves9) said I was the same person as (ORR)!!?? Well for that comment , it shows that you can’t tell a Canadian from an American . What a shame.

incredible, lamoriello gasses julien with three games left in the season and the team 23 games over .500. God, for a little of that conviction/will to win over here across the river, right or wrong, win or lose.

Of course I would have stood by the bet. As far as I’m concerned ORR is still a WELCHER. Popping his head in from time to time, not knowing the grounds of a bet he decided to take and breaking the rules MULTIPLE times now. Child.

I have a lot of respect for how Greg L. handled the loss, WELCHER ORR, not so much, especially when he was the one who was saying “Salty won’t even keep his end up if he loses and he’ll make up new names to keep posting”.

Pretty weak sauce, even with his ally LI Joe trying to help him out explaining the rules of his own bet twice now, I’m sorry to say that ORR will always be reffered to as WELCHER ORR from now on.

Which is what I said last night. A good game by the Rangers, specially teams – excellent. Other wise (Im not complaining) they beat a very beaten Pens team. They took advantage of a team which is coming apart at the seams. Someone said earlier its usually the team in the funk that beats the Rangers, it was nice to see it the other way around.

greg – pls. i despise the isles more than dolan (or even more than salty or true fans or wd). there are plenty of ranger fans on LI. and those who live there hate the isles more than anything. never liked the isles and never will. would love to see them move to see their fans suffer.

uhh wd, actually firing Julien right before the playoffs like that was said to be a bad move around the league, and to be honest, it didn’t do them any good that year, and the jury’s still out if Sutter’s any better.

(22figure8) …Yeah I wanted to know if he WAS one originally. I know ya can live in NJ and not have to like the Devils . I wanted to know his story …clue me in about this Devils , Islander and Ranger feud all in the same area.
I don’t know who the guys are that have turned or if they already been Ranger fans.

(LI) I see ,,crazy ya lived with ‘em fishsticks and didn’t join ‘em . Good choice I must say. (Salty) ty for the honarable statement , but I knew if i broke that bet Id be breaking my Ranger pride and all what I stand for as a Ranger fan . Thats another reason I took that bet because when someone doubts my Ranger team …im here to Back ‘em up!!!

jeever, uhh no kidding. (Though any year you’re the Devils and you sweep the Rangers ou of the playoffs is not a terrible year). But the move if nothing else showed balls and a will to win —- just as it did when he canned Ftorek and won the Cup with Robinson.

so your jury’s out on sutter, who has taken the likes of clemmenson and mottau and leach and clarkson and not only lost ground but made up miles on the Rangers, who have had no injuries and on whose coach if i’m not mistaken your jury has come back and you say he’s A-OK?

greg – i hate the isles so much i actually want them to win some serious games so they don’t get tavares or the the swede dman. actyally hate the fans a lot more than the team itself. for me it’s easy, i was ranger fan before the isles existed

isles fans are very much bandwagon fans. pretty poor sports with throwing stuff on the ice and all when they make the palyoffs that is.

I think this team is doing fine. But obviously, it’s go time now and they will have to start playing smart 60 minutes games more often to get a good seeding in the playoffs. The one problem this team has is that it is lacking that one guy to take the “New York Media Spotlight”(I am looking at you Sam!) off of the players. This includes the coaching staff. Renney is no Mike Kennan. I think he deflects the media onto the players even more (Though I think he is still a good coach)! During the 90s, they had Messier. Last two years they had Jagr and Avery. I feel that there’s no one on this team to distract the Larry Brooks of NY from putting pressure on the players for missing a shot on net, making one bad pass, or looking the wrong direction during a TV timeout. Hopefully, the team stops being so sensitive and just focuses on the remaining games this season, shift by shift.

Greg – the worst kind of isles fans are the ones who used to be Ranger fans (generally converted in the mid 70’s when Parise’s father scored an ot goal to beat the Rangers in a best of 3 series), the young uns pretty know only misery. they have not even won a playoff series since 1993, so even a 19 yr old was only 3 or 4 at that time. and they would have to be in upper 20’s to have any memories at all of their cup days (and really need to be in mid 30’s and up to appreciate it)

Are you intimating that the Rangers have been playing something just slightly less than “perfect hockey for 82 games”?

I doubt anyone suggests that they should be playing perfect hckey..but all onje has to do is watch their general performance on the ice …night after night….and one sees that this is a poorly coached team.

They still hang on to that perimeter game…very seldom is anyone in the crease or for that matter – anywhere near the slot area, during most of the offensive zone play. Voros has been out of positiion to do much of anything for months now…and so was he last night. So where was the coach’s reminders of this during the game? If he’s not in the slot – then he is all but useless anywhere else.

Gomez makes a mad dash from his end zone to the opponent blue line and then dumps the puck in..terrific. Who’s there to reclaim it? No one …partly because his wings never know if he’s going to go all the way, or going to dump..so they pull up at the blue line, he golfs it in – the opponent then skates it our passes it out…so much for that line rush. Brain dead hockey. And the coaches yawn.

You don’t see the good teams play like this. This team wastes an awful lot of ice time.

Actually at the time Lou fired Julien there was shock, but there was no immediate thought around the league that it was absolutely the wrong move until after the Devils lost in the second round (after sweeping the Rangers).

The reason Lou was not immediately condemned was because he had pulled the same move, almost as late in the season, in ’99-’00, and the Devils won it all. And if I remember correctly, Ftorek had his team 18-20 games over .500 when he got bounced, almost as good a record as Julien had six years later.

In addition to the incessant diving, constant working of the refs, general immaturity and unsportsmanlike qualities of Cindy Crysby, there is the paramount reason to HATE him:

He is relentlessly SHOVED down the throats of fans in every commercial and advertisement involving hockey by the NHL’s marketing department. OVER and OVER again he is ordained as the be-all-end-all ABSOLUTE BEST player in the league, when in fact he isn’t. AO is certainly a better player than him, and Malkin seems to be better at this point as well.

He is also clearly catered to by the NHL and the refs (see: diving); the only people in dispute of this are pens fans.

(LIjoe)
I do remeber the Islanders winning the Cup and going for thier ” drive for 5 ” I never cheered for any Newyork team
at that time and living in Saskatchewan the Ranger were un heard of . The Islanders took center stage at that time and to be serious …I thought why the hell is there 2 teams in that area!!? The Rangers were invisable to half of Canada back then…

Turning 40 and living in a province that has no hockey team but had brought up tons of great hockey players to the NHL. I packed up my hockey books and cards and went to NY with Messier in 1991 . As a toddler I liked Chicago and Boston because of Phil esposito and bobby orr . I was a Habs fan untill Guy hung’em up with Montreal . Now cheering for Wayne Gretzy with Messier playing against Islander as they won thier 4th Stanley cup!! Boooooooooooooo.

All I have to say is that this team has the best set for forwards we’ve had since the lockout. I don’t mean it in the sense of individual players, but just the fact that when playing to their full potential (which is something Renney can’t seem to get out of them every night) these guys are incredible fast and dangerous. However the fact that they don’t show up every night makes them look a lot worse than they really are.

I still think that at the end of the day, this team is better than they were last year just because of the depth across all 4 lines. There isn’t one guy to focus on. But as I stated at the start of the year, its our biggest strength but also our greatest weakness. I just feel like another coach would be able to get this team running on all cylinders and get them playing to the point where they are top 2 in the East and showing it on a nightly basis.

Why does Gomez rush up the ice and then looks both ways quik like hes checking for cars …and he bounce over to the boards behind the net and makes usually a bad , no creative pass…why? …Anyone who questions Gomez has a right to do so …because I can’t figure this one out.

Jagr said , Hell no , I can’t play with that guy!!!? Gomez is very usefull but to be quite honest …he can’t pass or shoot good at all. How does a guy make so much but can do so little? I don’t wanna get into this Gomez thing about the money but as a Ranger fan im dumbfounded about what he can really do for us.

the pens looked awful last nite, its amazing how bad their other forwards are and how much crosby is struggling.

while it is good we got two pp goals, they were more luck than anything else, but they both showed what can happen when u throw the puck at the net. our d seem to always miss the net high or wide, but good to see mara get one.

Steve Cangialosi has got to be the worst announcer in the entire world. He thinks he is Gods gift to earth and is actually telling Stan that Scott Clemmensen is better than Lundy bc his numbers are better this season. Stan looked like he was going to punch him in the face.

What’s up Li Joe? Thanks for the shout-out. I’m actually on a huge hate-Devils and Penguins myself right now…even more than I hate your posts haha.

For everyone who agrees with this: “Yes, it’s a stretch. But the Rangers are afforded a rare crisis-free day after they manhandled the slumping Penguins last night.” Puuuhhleaase…I want to puke. If that’s man-handling a team then what would a game without tons of bad penalties, a 5-on-3, bunches of odd-man rushes, and a 2-on-freaking-0 be called?! Winning the cup? Geez. If we have been that jaded by terrible play that last night was a man-handling then maybe we’ll be lucky enough to watch Montreal man-handle us?! I hope not!! God, I hate them more than I hate LI Joe (again) and I keep seeing chris drury blow his chance in the shootout last year to allow the Canadians that disastrous come-back win where they ‘man-handled’ us in the second half of the game…geez. The bar’s really dropping, huh?

Ruutu did it again, I was just watching the Sabres vs. Sens game and Andrew Peters got tied up with Jerko Ruutu and as Peters was rubbing his right glove on Ruutu’s face, Ruutu bite Peter’s thumb.
The NHL complains about Avery & Hollweg, well what about this jerk Ruutu, he has a rap sheet since I remember during the Torino Olympics how he nearly implanted killed Jagr, oh wait nothing will be done since he plays for a canadian team.
Get rid of this bum!

li joe — don’t you think “creating” the website gives me a little too much credit though?? I mean someone took the time to actually do such a thing?? guess the frustration of not winning the discussion with words became a bit too much

wd – not about winning some discussions. for example i don’t agree with everything kaspar says. but i appreciate his good humor and he brings a lot to the table,

others either in certain language or the way they badger some others, i don’t like to read. not because of their point of view per se but the way they carry themselves. and to a degree the repetition of certain points over and over and over again.

i would be curious how they actually created the site. did they do some search of all your comments and had that loaded to the site they created. i would hope so otherwise that really would have been tedious.

li joe, i dunno, the idea of “hating” someone because they differ with someone else’s opinions about a hockey team — however crudely those disagreements are said — is the definition of sad and lonely. and when you go and create a website because you’re so frustrated? man, that is sorrowful

If they can hang Adam Graves number 9 to the rafters and retire it … I want a few numbers signed at all cost and have thier numbers raised and retired for all of us Ranger fans to enjoy. #18 ,#30 , #17 and yes number 13 !!!

greg – can’t agree with the at all cost aspect. even for homegrown players, the cap constrains what you can do. so at all cost could mean dubi at $ 4 mm or Z at $ 6 mm. would you do that. i sure wouldn’t. we need to stop chasing free agents, let some contracts expire, and hopefully our home grown start taking hometown discounts like they do in Det and Pitt. other than Henrik our best of the young uns is # 18 (by far)

ZZZZZZZZZz, the rangers have retired maybe 6 numbers all time to date. Prior to about 5 years ago when they did Richter, it was 3 over 75+ years. Now, you’re suggesting that we can even think about Dubinsky and Zheredev having their numbers retired? Or am I mis-reading your post?

Lundqvist? Maybe. Another 4 or 5 years of playing at top level, throw in a vezina tropy, and a trip to the finals (or god forbid, another cup).

Staal? the guy has played a year and a half. Looks like a total blue-chipper, but come on….He has such a long way to go.

And the other two, while they have shown flashes of skills, to get a number retired is a tall order. Not only a level of skill, but luck and longevity are required.

When I first started watching the Rangers in the late 80s they were run like a second tier team with no big stars (Beezer? Kissio?) and everyone wanted more numbers retired. I think it’s great that they’re retiring Graves number and especially Bathgate/Howell; two great Rangers who gave it their all in a time when the draft was based on your hometown and not a number process.

Lundmark? Blah…he left such a bad taste in my mouth. He wasn’t finesse enough to be a skill guy, and wasn’t gritty enough to be a grinder. One of my female friends suggested he go into modeling LOL. But if he can be in the NHL at this stage as a role guy, more power to him.

Ortmeyer is out because his pulmonary embolism problem came back. His career might be over, I sure hope not, he gave it his all every shift; him and Tyutin started it all in terms of young guys getting a chance to play here again.

He tried sooo hard in that Devils series in 06 when Jagr was out, Rucinsky had the broken finger, and all was lost.

Anyone know how Jozef Balej is doing after that horrible accident where his kidney was speared? I really liked him and will always root for him.

I usually cheer for fellow Original 6, but I hope Montreal TANKS. I think it’s an absolute joke that Kovalev, Markov, Komisarek and Price are on the All Star Team, let alone the friggin starting lineup? That’s BS. They will fail.

and Gomez is like “I hope the whole team shaves their heads”
and Pearn is like “I need a new blackboard”
and Dubinsky is like “i swear I’m not 12″
and Naslund is like “where is bertuzzi?”
while Hank just says “Well…I may get three breakaways a period….but the Chix dig me!”

If Prucha continues to do well watch how many people say the benching is what made it happen…

I actually like Voros…he tries…he just isnt that great..one thing I’d like to point out about him is that earlier he shoukld have received a lot of credit for jamming the crease…there were plenty of times he did the dirty work and got no assist or goal nust took his beating and screend or upset the goalie…

I still dont know why they abandon that tactic until they fall behind…thats gotta be explained to me one day…
its almost like “Ok, the passive perimeter game isnt working tonight boys…go charge the net ..we need three goals”

Kaspar, I agree 100%… Voros’s value is being the big guy in front. When they’re in the offensive zone, that’s where he HAS to be. Drury did it a lot last year, but he’s tiny and got absolutely ABUSED… Voros can take the punishment better…

Remember the game against Tampa Bay, when he got Mike Smith to go all Ron Hextall on him?

wd – wrong attitude COMPLETELY. If there’s a website dedicated to you, you’ve hit the big time. Its time to own up to your fame and embrace it. You have to acknowledge that people should, nay, MUST re-read you, time and again.

But I distictly rememebr that when we began to slide…going to the net became sporadic at best, usually done after falling behind and I cant tell you how many times I’d yell after they scored-or even came close- “look! theres Voros standing there getting beat to sh** and now Zherdev or who-ever has scored or almost scored..thats how to do it?…
and then I’d look around and all my Ranger fan-family members were sleeping

and Orr’s like “Redden, I can still kick your ass!”
and Reddens like “I know, I’m soft as a pillow”
and Chris Clark is like, “holy shit my jaw hurts”
and Orr’s like “Wade your a woman in shoulder pads and a cup”

“Kaspar, I agree 100%… Voros’s value is being the big guy in front. When they’re in the offensive zone, that’s where he HAS to be. Drury did it a lot last year, but he’s tiny and got absolutely ABUSED… Voros can take the punishment better…

Remember the game against Tampa Bay, when he got Mike Smith to go all Ron Hextall on him?”
_____

Also agreed 100%. When hes not doing the gritty work in front of the net hes virtuously useless. Im just not sure if his early season success made him think that hes got the talent to be a ‘goal scorer’ or if the ‘system’ doesnt have him planted in front of the net… either way. Its not working right now.

Also… he needs ot work on his speed. For a guy with legs as long as his hes way too slow.

colton orr is a waste of a roster spot. he dresses so he can fight the other teams goon with 2 minutes left in 4 zip game. dont need him. need some one who can actually play the game. and dont give me the his skating is better bit. he still can;t catch anybody to throw a check on.

you have to understand that hockey is that type of game. you always need a good teammate who can back you up and defend you colton orr is an enforcer. he’s very much needed- what do you do if someone like laraque goes after zherdev or gomer or naslund all game and your so called “enforcer” is prucha who takes colton orr’s spot. that’s not ok.

Maybe its hard to park in front of the net, if you are being told to be aware and get back on D. Thats why Renney virtually said he is out of shape. It was a nicer way of saying he is lazy. I still think that playing the 4th line as much as they do is detrimental to the overall conditioning of the top 3 forward lines.

I truly believe that is the fault in Renney’s “system”. The players cheat to get back because they are coached to be in good defensive position on the back check. That is fine if you are in top physical shape. But when you play 15 minutes a game I think that peak conditioning is hard to reach thus resulting in the cheating and the lack of offensive zone work and forecheck.

I’m not a hockey genious by any means but I have concluded this and then Saturday night Ron Duguay hinted at this exact point. Made me feel better about myself too! It doesnt take much these days….

come playoff time do you think orr is going to have any roll at all. he plays the first couple of games, renney realizes he can’t keep up, and then he watches from the press box. give me somebody who can be an enforcer, and can play the game. not someone who’s idea of an enforcer is to yell at the other team from the bench. he is a waste.

2 things on offense I’ve noticed about the rangers almost as long as I’ve seen them play (since the early-mid 90s)…

1. They always have problems getting guys in the crease and staying there. This year and the end of last year) was the some of the best I’ve seen them with this.

2. For some HORRIFIC reason, they’ll often have more forwards behind the goal line than in front. Its not as bad lately (past 2-3 years), but watch the rush next game… They’ll usually blow past the net, circle around the back, or just stop and wait for something to happen. I’ve seen power plays where there’s 2-3 forwards behind the line at all times. Its HARD to score from there!

I never said the Rangers were going to stay hot, or perfect for an entire 82 game season.

My only real point was that they are wildly inconsistent…

On any given night (sometimes period by period i.e. vs the Leafs, Caps) you could see a hard working, talented team. The next thing you know you’re looking at a bunch of guys who don’t know what the frick is going on or how to adjust.

A good coach gets the most out of his team. Our coach does not. That was my point.

bull dog line your flat out wrong, you may want a pretty man’s game with no fighting but this is hockey and every team has an enforcer and if they don’t they would like one.
If what you say was the case, why does Pitt dress Bogard? why do the Sharks dress Parros? why does Cote play in Philthy, and Brashear in Washington, Hell why does Crosby or Semin play? I mean these guys are there to protect there players. Are you suggesting Redden is enough?

the coach has told them to aim for the pillows(pads) when they shoot, and to shoot wide on purpose to avoid getting there shot blocked, and hoping for a bad bounce off the boards. whatever happened to trying to score when you shoot. the players instinct has been taken away by overcoaching. renney isn’t alone, it is like that allover the NHL. this a reason the rangers have trouble scoring. they do have alot of offenceivly gifted players. but they think instead of reacting, or being instinctive.

no iam suggesting i want more. brashere can skate and throw the body, same with laraque. and parros can play a little. orr can’t. and if he can’t i would rather have someone in the lineup who can contribute in some other way. he can play against the flyers, and the devs or isle’s. and go ahead and have his fight, but he is not protecting anybody, because you can’t use him on a regular basis. he just can’t play.

while i’d agree he doesnt necessarily need to dress for EVERY game… if you havent been able to see how much his overall game has improved from last season t this season, then you clearly arent watching him very closely.

Again… Im not saying he deserves to dress for every game, but he does have some value. Especially for how much we pay him.

You probably wouldnt be so annoyed by him being in the lineup if our bonehead coach didnt play his line as much as they do. I love Betts Sjo and Orr… but I must admit that they see too much icetime outside of when they are truely needed (Betts/Sjo are GREAT on the PK)

one more on enforcers Staal,
boston has Lucic, 84 pims,
11 goals, 15asst, and plus 16. give me that.Detroit does not dress anybody in that ro;;, and Chiacago has Eager. he plays 7 minutes a night, and still manages to halve 8 goals. give me that. we settle for way less on this blog. still laughing about the betts minus 20 (over a few years) boy thats great comment.

bull dog before you post at least do a little research…holy shit! Please for the love of god show me how Parros, Brashear, Laraque and others are better than Orr. Parros has out scored all of them but to say Orr doesn’t throw the body or skate is just being blind. Orr throws the body just as much as those others and this year has proved he can skate with them as well…shear ignorance.

staal,
please tell me exactly what it is orr does. great he fights the teams tough guy once in a while. so maybe if he doesn’t dress that guy has nobody to fight. i can live with that. who is a more intimidating player? orr or brashere, orr or laraque, or orr or parros.
he looses to each guy in that category.

bull dog – Orr’s good at what he does. no, he’s not the very best in the league, that’s why he doesn’t measure up to the 3 guys you mentioned. doesn’t mean he stinks at it either. he also costs like 1/2 of what the other guys do.

I can’t imagine that 1 roster spot on the 4th line is THAT big a deal to give to an enforcer type… what’s wrong with having a serious hitter and fighter on the team?

jeever,
he doesn’t hit, he can’t catch up to hit. if a team is going to play 4 lines, than you need 12 forwards who can play. and we know renney values his 4th line as much( if not more) than his 3rd line.

yes-I continue to see them having problems going to the net and when they do they are successfull—anyone Remember renny commenting on this a few weeks back? He said that “is” in his system but the players simply “were not doing it”…..strange

also along those lines..One of my kids asked me these two questions while watching a run of Rangers games recently…

1)Are the Rangers the only team that does line changes with 12 seconds to go in a period? ( they were losing in all the instances that she had seen this)

2)How come every time the other team comes at the rangers end there are 2 or 3 guys spread out ( she meant center and two wings in formation) but the Rangers either send one guy in against 3 opponents or…(this was funny and happened three times in a row) they send two or three guys in all right on top of ech other…on the same side of the ice!!